Subscribers Only Content Area

Home

New Movies

All Movies

New Videos

All Videos

DVD

Search

(About Our Ads) DVD REVIEW FOR "ANTZ" (1998) (voices of Woody Allen, Sharon Stone) (PG) Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 83 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1) 16x9 - Widescreen English English Dolby Digital 5.1 1 (Dual Layer) PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW VIDEO: (A) Despite some instances of compression-related pixelation (especially during the opening credits in the off-white background) and a picture that doesn't always seem quite as sharp as it should or could be, the disc's visuals are otherwise quite good. Sporting lots of deep and varied, but never oversaturated colors, the computer animated figures and scenery are so well done that after a while you'll forget that you're watching something that isn't real. AUDIO: (A+) Making full use of its wide dynamic range, this release's audio track is outstanding. From its nonstop fun score to its impressive sound effects (including good use of its surround tracks) and crisp, celebrity laden dialogue tracks, the disc's audio is topnotch. EXTRAS: Scene selection/Jump to any scene. Scene selection/Jump to any scene (with moving images). Running audio commentary by director's Tim Johnson & Eric Darnell. Production featurette: 4+ minutes of clips and interviews with the filmmakers. Basics of Computer Animation: 11+ minutes of interviews and insights into the making of the film. Antz Facial Animation: 1 minute of shots (and audio voice-over) detailing the creation of one of the character's faces. Character Design: 10+ minutes of shots (and audio voice-over) detailing how the ants' appearance was designed and chosen, etc... TV Spots: 4 TV commercials. Cast & Crew List: 2 pages of credits (with bios only for the two directors). Production Notes: 9 pages of on-screen text. Theatrical trailer. DVD Credits List (playing over scenes from the film). COMMENTS: A marvelously crafted, technologically amazing and downright fun tale, "Antz" is a film that should appeal to adults as much as, and perhaps more than, to their kids. For anyone ever interested in those flat, glass enclosed ant farms or just what the miniature parade of such insects marching across the ground is up to, then this is the movie for you. Much like "Toy Story" that took a familiar world (of toys) and turned it upside down under a microscope to show what might just occur there, this film does the same with creatures we see all of the time, but never think much about. Although not quite as good as that earlier film in overall enjoyment, this picture has so many fun little moments (along with some impressive big ones and a great, tell-all, zoom out shot that concludes the picture) that make it a film well worth recommending. Whereas the characters in "Toy Story" had some emotive expressions, the fact that they were toys made of wood or plastic, along with the general technological limitations of the time, prevented Woody and his pals from having what most would consider "real" human facial characteristics. Although the characters here are obviously ants, the range of emotions that appear on their faces is often quite stunning. As helmed by supervising animators Raman Hui & Rex Grignon, these new effects are literally amazing and give the characters a "human" dimensionality that "simple" 3-D imaging and other such effects couldn't produce in the past. Beyond the emotive qualities present in the ant characters, the film is an overall visual treat to behold in nearly every way imaginable. From the massive subterranean world in which Z and his fellow workers (or "Soil Relocation Engineers" as he puts it) toil away their lives, to the outside picnic world straight from the set of "Land of the Giants," the film never fails to amaze. The same holds true for the supplemental materials present on this DVD. From the running audio commentary of the filmmakers (our favorite part of nearly any DVD that has that feature), to some incredibly insightful material on the computer animation process, this is an exemplary showcase of "fun" extras.